The Bank of Mum and Dad isn’t just for kids’ withdrawals – almost half of parents receive financial support from their children, research found.
While the younger generation is well known for having to scrimp and save to climb onto the housing ladder, it has emerged many are also having to help their families at the same time.
The M&S Bank research found that 49 per cent of millennials (23-38 year olds) provide financial support to their parents.
This increases to 54 per cent for the younger Gen Z-ers (16-22 year olds).
Over the past 12 months, more than three-quarters (82 per cent) of people have provided family members with financial support for things such as days out or paying a bill, giving £828 on average to support family members in the last year.
On average, 23-38 year olds have given £1,161 to family members over the last 12 months to help with their day-to-day finances, compared to £871 from 16-22 year olds, £756 from 39-54 year olds, £498 from 55-73 year olds and £563 from the over 74s.
Paul Stokes, head of products, M&S Bank, said: “Despite common perceptions about the bank of mum and dad, what we are seeing is that the ‘family bank’ works both ways, with people ‘depositing’ and ‘withdrawing’ from the family finances at different times in their lives.
“While millennials or Gen Z-ers may be boomeranging back to live in the family home at some stage in their adult lives, with parents often supporting their children to get a foot on the property ladder, this support is not a one-way street with many younger generations also helping parents, and other family members.
“It also works across generations, with siblings now more commonly purchasing property together.
“Our findings contrast with the common narrative that financial support in families only flows one way, or that it’s all about the money, with many keen to hear about the financial learnings of both older and younger family members.”
When it comes to siblings, the research revealed brothers and sisters rely on each other far more in our early years.
The financial support provided by siblings was particularly key for 16-22 year olds (17 per cent) and 23-38 year olds (20 per cent).
With increasing age, people were less likely to say they looked to their brothers and sisters for financial support.
Emotional support was the most important way families can help each other (for 67 per cent), according to M&S Bank.
The majority of millennials and Gen Z-ers also said they would like more emotional support from their families, with the highest percentage in the 16-22 age bracket.
Kay Neufeld, head of macroeconomics at the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), which authored the research report, added: “The research clearly demonstrates that as lifestyles and family models evolve, so do financial realities among family members.
“While parent-to-child support continues to play an important role, the report shows that there are also significant financial flows from children to parents as well as between siblings.
“From the cost of care and housing to simply helping out with ongoing bills, many older family members are grateful for any financial support they receive.
“When times get tough, however, more traditional family roles prevail with the research showing that people are four times more likely to rely on their parents during financial hardship than on their children.”
